EMOTIONAL FITNESS TIPS

I leave you not a tip, but something to think about – two quotes from my favorite author T.H. White. His book The Once and Future King was the basis of many movies about Camelot, but was a satire about evil and good and hope. He is speaking to the young King Arthur in both quotes. The first:

There is one fairly good reason for fighting – and that is, if the other man starts it. You see, wars are a great wickedness, perhaps the greatest wickedness of a wicked species. They are so wicked that they must not be allowed. When you can be perfectly certain that the other man started them, then is the time when you might have a sort of duty to stop them.

The second quote

“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. . .”

I love spirituals and one I love in particular is Down By the Riverside also known as Ain’t gwine study war no more. But the sad truth is we need to study war to end it. Peace won’t be if most of us sit by while those who will do evil seek power or hold power. So spend a bit of time thinking about what you can do to make peace in your world and the broader world. Focus at least part of that time on your thinking, what makes you angry, what makes you jealous, what you think you know.

Stay strong

Staying strong is not easy. Memorial Day is a day to think about what matters. Two things matter in our quest for peace: Kindness and Justice for All. Justice does not mean a level playing field, but the right of all to be safe, to live free from fear, to hold beliefs others disagree with all while seeking the same for all others. Be as kind as possible as you go about your daily life but be willing to speak and to actively fight oppression.